Help...Transition: TUBE FEEDING to BOTTLE FEEDING

I need some help from the breeders that have tube fed kittens and then got them to drink from a bottle. I have a very stubborn kitten that will not take a bottle . . .

A bit of history: I have a litter of 4 that is now 4wks old. When they were approx 2 1/2 wks, my queen got sick and could not feed them any longer. So I stepped in to feed them. In the beginning none of them would take a bottle, so they were tube fed. 3 of them took to a bottle after approx 2 days. The 4th one . . . 1 1/2 wks later, still will not take a bottle and I am still tube feeding him. With every feeding, I offer him the bottle 1st, to see if he will take it, and each time, he refuses it.

Any suggestions on how to get him to drink from the bottle?? I have no problem tube feeding him, at least this way I know how much he is getting (expecially since he is quite smaller then the rest), but it would also be nice if I could get him on the bottle.

Any suggestions??

Valerie

Awwww poor little thing. I have only bottle fed kittens. I'm sure someone will be along soon to help you with your dilema.

Sorry, I'm no help here - you need to seek advise from Persian/Exotic breeders! However, at 4 weeks maybe you should think of transitioning from tube to wet instead of bottle..

- you need to seek advise from Persian/Exotic breeders!

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the breed really has nothing to do with it and does not make a difference. A kitten is a kitten. I was just hoping someone here would have some special "trick" (for lack of a better word) to get a kitten to drink from a bottle.

However, at 4 weeks maybe you should think of transitioning from tube to wet instead of bottle..

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He is much to small to be putting onto wet food at this point. Kitten formula, IMO is the better choice for him until he can put on some more weight and grows some. I do not have a problem tube feeding him for another 2wks or so if that is what it takes. As mentioned, just wondering if there was a trick to get him over to a bottle.

I'm no help either - never had an experience that involved tube or bottle feeding.

As far as the persian breeder - some breeds tend to have more problems then others regarding tube feeding. Aby was just offering advice as she probably knows breeders that have done this more then the average person

When I had to bottlefeed a kitten, I made the hole in the nipple much larger and squeezed the bottle so that the milk would kind of squirt into the kitten's mouth. If he closed his mouth then I would stick the nipple in the side of his mouth and squirt. Eventually he got the idea that warm milk was coming from the bottle and he got the hang of it.

Personally, I'd be terrified to feed a kitten that way; wouldn't that increase the chance of aspiration? Has the kitten at least figured out how to get its tongue to work? Perhaps you can use a 1 cc syringe to put a few drops at a time on his tongue. I'd worry that his suckling reflex isn't at 100% from so much tube feeding.

My "runt" of the litter began eating from a saucer at 3 1/2 weeks. She weighed less than 3 ounces at birth. She's still small, but she can have food any way she wants to take it